Reaping

My son and I have been busy in the garden. We're sowing for summer, but we're also harvesting regularly from our fall/winter plantings.

We're--okay, mom is--enjoying salad, salad and more salad. Right now my salads consist of the following ingredients, all from our garden:

• various lettuces
• arugula, both the annual and spicier perennial
• sorrel--just a few leaves cut into strips (chiffonade for you culinary types)
• herbs: parsley, chevril, cilantro
• carrots
• tiny florets of raw broccoli. I'm usually not a fan of raw broccoli, but the fresh stuff is delish
• pea pods, cut in 3rds (yes, I love those culinary scissors)
• roasted beet
• beet greens, in strips add a nice crunch
• garnish of these edible flowers: arugula, rosemary, nasturtium & manzanita
• I drop (cut) basil leaves into dressing of 1/2 olive oil, half balsamic vineagar

Speaking of basil: one of mine overwintered and is budding again! You've got to love perennial basil.

We sprouted yukon gold potatoes in the fall and they've topped the large storage bin we planted them in. We got our seed potatoes from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply.

My 3-year-old won't touch salad, but he does like the broccoli and tiny carrots steamed. He enjoys popping open pea pods. And, of course, he'll pick any- and everything.